Phantasy Crossing: Episode One: Worlds Apart
by Digi-Dolphin
Summary: wrote it 3 years ago.ACxPSO crossover. Valentine was just your average guy, until a piece of furniture goes haywire, sending Periwinkle's whole Lovely Series to Ragol! How can an AC human survive the might of Dark Falz and collect the whole set?
1. Prologue

Prologue

"It's here!" Valentine cheered as he stuck his head out the window of his house and spotted Pete flapping down with a loaded mailbag. "It's finally here! Hey, Pete!" he cheered and raced outside, eager for his package. Pete landed and sifted through the contents of his mailbag as Valentine ran up to him.

"Oh, hey, great. Listen, this package arrived for you from Crazy Redd. Man, what is it? It's kinda small compared to the other stuff he usually sells." Pete remarked as he brought out a letter with a present symbol stamped on it. He handed it to Valentine, who immediately stuffed it into his letter pocket on his backpack.

"I know. But Redd got his hands on something really rare this time. As soon as I saw it, I had to get it!" Valentine replied and grinned, "I'm gonna take it over to Periwinkle's house and try it out." Pete waved and flew off, leaving the human to rush over across the way to his girlfriend's house.

Periwinkle looked up from her redecorating as Valentine hurried in. She gave the Lovely Stereo one last shove and stood back, examining the placement of the furniture with a critical eye. Valentine came to a halt and blinked. Sighing, he shook his head. She was at it again.

"Val, what do you think? Does the stereo look good next to the Lovely Armchair or the Lovely Table with the Birthday Cake on it?" she asked over her shoulder. Valentine, commonly called Val, scratched his head and shrugged.

"Does it matter? You've already earned a ton of points from the Happy Room Academy." he replied. Periwinkle frowned and pulled on her backpack.

"Fine, be that way. Listen, I'm glad you came by. I need to hop the train to the next town. The shop over there has the last piece of furniture for my upstairs Citrus Theme." she told him, "Stay here and watch my house for me. I don't want the neighbors coming in and poking around at stuff. Not when the HRA County Wide Contest is just around the corner and I'm bent on winning it!"

"All right, fine. Can I use your TV though? I just got a cool piece of furniture from Redd and I wanna try it out." Val sighed and then grinned. Periwinkle nodded and glanced at the Red Clock she had placed in the proper corner for 'Ultimate Feng Shui-ness'.

"Yeah, go ahead. I gotta run and meet with Rover for the trip. I'm paranoid about traveling from Animal Crossing to Animal Acres. Only one human over there in a town of, like, thirty animals." she added and blew a kiss towards him, "Bye bye!"

"See if you can get Darwin Grabag to move outta here while you're at it!" Val yelled out and sat down in the Lovely Chair before the Apple TV. Darwin was the only other human who lived in Animal Crossing along with himself and Periwinkle. That wouldn't have been so bad, except Darwin had the bad habit of trying to put moves on Periwinkle. Shaking the thought of him out of his head, Val pulled out the letter from Redd and opened it.

"'Here's that little item you had your eye on. Pleasure doin' business with ya and feel free to shop at Crazy Redd's any time!'" he read and peeled off the present stamp that was attached to the letter. He held it out in his open hand. "Open!" he declared and the stamp popped open to reveal a leaf. "All right! Too cool!" Val laughed and tossed the leaf ahead of him so it landed in front of the TV. The leaf landed on the floor and burst in a puff of dust to reveal a Nintendo GameCube. "Now to plug it in and play my new game!"

Following the letter's additional instructions, Val had the system set up and a game plugged in, ready to go. He looked at the last line of Redd's letter and frowned.

"'Whatever you do, DON'T turn this thing on! Trust me, you don't wanna be around if this thing goes on.'" Redd warned in the letter. Val shrugged and laughed. What could possibly be bad about turning on this never before seen piece of furniture? He reached down and pressed the 'Power' button on the system.

For a few brief moments, the screen was normal, showing the game being loaded. Then suddenly, it flickered and energy began to flow from the set. A strange hole suddenly appeared over Val, who had stumbled back and held up a hand protectively. Winds howled around him and pieces of furniture began to get pulled towards the hole.

"Hey! What's going on!" Val cried and covered his head as the furniture and other things began to fly into the strange white portal. "Stop! That's Periwinkle's entire Lovely Series collection! She's gonna kill me if it's all taken now!" The entire room was stripped bare of its decorations and it all swirled and vanished into the vortex. The last thing to disappear was the GameCube. The portal remained open, however, and Val looked around in dismay. Everything was gone!

"I am so dead." he sighed and looked himself over for injury from the crazy happening. There was a small tear on his shirt, the Lavender Robe he had earned from Gracie during her last trip to Animal Crossing, and his matching hat with its funky horns was still all right. "Okay, I'm alive for now, but if I don't get Periwinkle's stuff back, I'm not gonna be around for that stupid contest." he muttered and sat up. "Okay, now, let's see what I have in my pack." The backpack was empty and he still had a slew of open letters that he never got around to throwing away. "Open space. That's good." Val sighed and stood up, taking a deep breath. "Well, I'd better get to it. If I don't go to wherever this thing goes to and get that series back, there won't be much of a point to me staying here." he muttered and, shutting his black eyes tight, jumped into the portal to another world.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

**Ragol**

"Waaaah!" a voice cut through the peaceful forest of the planet Ragol as a group of hunters finished cleaning up one sector in their quest for clues and treasure. They looked up, startled, then looked at each other briefly before racing off to see what it was that caused the noise.

"Dibs on the monster and its treasure!" Perrinetta, a little Force newman girl dressed all in shades of violet, declared in a loud voice as she pulled ahead, "Come on, Denwark!" The Rukmin she had received as a gift zipped after her.

"Perri! Wait for us!" her partner, Dular, yelled and sighed. "Man, she's just as annoying as a kid sister." A red-headed Hunter with hair tied back in a braid, Dular usually had to keep a close eye on his partner, knowing she would pull on it and play other little pranks in order to get him moving so they could gather treasure. Tagging along behind him was the most recent member of their little group, a young Ranger named Elliot who loved shades of blue.

"If it's blue, can I have it?!" he yelled out and skidded to a stop as the tiny group reached an open meadow. "Whoa, it's a kid?" he remarked in surprise as Perri knelt next to a small figure lying face-down on the grass.

"Perri, how is he?" Dular asked. Perri scratched her head and shrugged. "Did you cast Resta?" She nodded and poked at the figure's back. "Don't do that. Is he alive?"

"Well, yeah. If he wasn't, I'd be screaming, 'Dead body! Dead body!' right now." the girl retorted. Elliot ran his hand through short, spiky blue hair and looked a little pale.

"Um, could he be a survivor of Pioneer 1?" he asked softly, "'Cause, if he is, we have to get him back to Pioneer 2, like, right now." Dular sighed and walked over to pick up the tiny form. He frowned at the strange outfit the boy was wearing.

"Did the people of Pioneer 1 have such weird clothes?" he muttered as Perrinetta lifted her Twinkle Star rod and cast a quick Ryuker spell. As the pipe opened, Elliot picked up a letter that fell from the boy's hand and followed the group back to the ship that orbited the planet.

**Pioneer 2**

"Oogh, whatta nightmare..." Val groaned as he shifted and opened his eyes. He blinked up in shock at the face of an elfin-looking girl with bright blue eyes and long violet hair. "Waaah!" he cried and jumped up from his hospital bed. He saw the other two people there, a red head in a strange orange jumpsuit and a blue-haired teen in weird armor, and jumped again. "I'm not in Animal Crossing anymore, that's for sure! That wasn't a nightmare; I really _did_ lose all of Periwinkle's stuff!" he wailed, "Where am I?! And who're all of you?!"

"He's jumpy." Perri remarked.

"He's not a Pioneer 1 survivor." Dular muttered, "Who are you? And where did you come from, little guy?" Val rubbed his head and winced.

"My name's Valentine Hart, and don't laugh! My friends call me Val." Val answered with a grumble. "I'm from Animal Crossing, which is basically a town full of animals and only three humans. I'm one of the humans, obviously."

"Is this a town on Ragol?" Perri asked, confused. Val blinked and shook his head. "Well, then, what's up? Where'd you come from? We found you in the forest all knocked out and all."

"It started back at my girlfriend's house. I plugged in and switched on a new game system I got and it somehow ripped open a hole in space or something." Val replied, feeling like a little kid again, "It sucked in all of my girlfriend's things and I jumped in to get them back. If I don't recollect her stuff and get home before she gets back from her trip, I'm a dead man!"

"Telepipe gone haywire, basically. No prob! We'll help you out!" Elliot declared with a grin. Perri glared at him.

"We will? Whoa, there. What do we get out of this?" she growled. Val thought hard.

"I do have my usual gear with me. I suppose I could part with my Golden Shovel for payment, if you want." he replied. Perri blinked and grinned.

"Really?! Strange sounding weapon if you ask me. What's its special?" she asked eagerly.

"Weapon? It's just a shovel. And sometimes I find money with it when I dig around the town." Val replied, an eyebrow raised, "What would I need a weapon for?"

"Perri, don't be so money hungry. This kid needs help, so let's help him out." Dular scolded and cleared his throat, "Well, Val, I'm Dular, a Hunter of the Purplenum class. That's Perrinetta, my partner and our Force user. She's also Purplenum. And this is Elliot, a Ranger in the Oran class."

"Nice to meet ya." Val remarked, "So, you're going to help me get my girlfriend's stuff back? Is there a house we can use to check the items?"

"Yeah, mine. Do you know where your girlfriend's things are, Val?" Dular remarked. The boy shook his head and lifted his hands in despair.

"I don't know! The winds that sucked them into the portal could have scattered them everywhere! Who knows where they could be or who or what might have them?!" he cried.

"Then let's go down to the forest and start our search there!" Elliot exclaimed, "I bet we can get a good start on clues and items if we start there!" Val jumped down from the bed and grabbed his backpack.

"Then, I'm coming too! I'm the one who got us into this mess, so I'd better be there to recollect the stuff and carry them. After all, it's my neck on the line." he pointed out.

"You sure you want to do that? It's dangerous down there on the planet." Dular remarked, "Maybe we should get you suited up as a Hunter and a weapon to keep you safe."

"Nah, he'd do better as a Force, like me. Right, Denwark?" Perri grinned at her Mag. The Rukmin laughed and wiggled its feet, seeming to agree with her. "I know! You can use my old Shadow Wand!"

"No way! He'd make a way cool Ranger!" Elliot declared. Val looked at them all and sighed, shaking his head.

"Forget you guys! I'm gonna be me and just get those items back. Can we go now?" he growled. Dular shrugged.

"Fine, but we still need to get you a weapon." he replied.

"If you're that paranoid about me getting hurt down there, I can use my Golden Axe as a weapon, okay?" Val grumbled.

"Right. Well, then. Let's go back to Ragol!" Elliot cheered and ran out of the building. Dular rolled his eyes and followed, with Perri and Val tagging along behind.

**Forest 1**

"So this is where you found me?" Val remarked as the group touched down on Ragol's surface again. Dular nodded as Elliot fished out the letter and handed it back to the kid. "Okay. Well, how should we go about finding my girl's stuff?"

"We kill whatever moves!" Elliot declared. Val studied the letter and slid it back into his pack, pulling out a gold axe in its place. He gripped it and gave a few swings, then looked up at the group.

"Let's move out then." Dular remarked, "Perri? You know the drill." The Force user grinned and twirled her rod.

"Gather 'round for my famous S and D Hug!" she declared and gathered energy into her body. Using the rod as a channel, she sent the energy into her friends, casting Shifta and Deband to boost their power and defense. The group then headed off in search of the missing items.

They hadn't gone too far when they ran into the first batch of wild beasts. A pair of fat yellow birds dropped down from nowhere and landed on the grass, waddling towards the hunters. Val stepped back behind the group, wary of the birds. A third one dropped behind him and he jumped again.

"Waaaah!" he wailed and scampered aside as the group spun to see what happened.

"Al Rappy!" Elliot whooped and opened fire on the rare blue bird with his rifle as Dular and Perri took care of the normal Rag Rappies that dropped earlier. "Booyah! Drop me a rare!" he yelled as the bird flopped over.

"Are you insane?! That bird was as big as me!" Val shrieked as Dular and Perri joined Elliot in huddling around the blue bird. Confused by their actions, Val only stood by and watched them stare at the creature intently. What were they up to now? It was dead, wasn't it?

"Aw, come on, I ain't got all day, y'know!" Perri growled in a low voice. As if to respond to her irate grumble, the bird twitched and then made a sudden dash for safety. "Ha! Kill it!"

"Blue!" Elliot yelled and fired a shot at it. The Rappy tripped and slid into the underbrush of the forest, leaving behind an item. "Red box!"

"It's mine!" Perri yelled and dove at it as Dular frowned.

"Guys, that wasn't a red box." he pointed out as Elliot jumped after Perri and wrestled with her over the dropped item. They froze and looked up at him in confusion, then at each other. Finally, they looked down at the spot where the item had dropped.

It was a leaf.

"The heck? Hey! That Rappy gypped us!" Perri yelled, jumping up and fuming, "What are we supposed to do with a leaf?!" Val walked up cautiously and brightened upon seeing it.

"That's it! That's one of Periwinkle's furniture pieces!" he cheered and ran up to grab the leaf. Snatching it up by the stem, Val studied it for damage, then slid it into his pack. "That's one down."

"Furniture? Are you saying that we're risking our necks for chairs and tables and stuff like that?!" Perri snapped at him, "Are you some kind of an idiot?! What's wrong with you?!"

"Hey, furniture is extremely important where I'm from, okay?!" Val snapped back, "And my girlfriend will wring my neck if I don't come back with all of those pieces!"

"A promise is a promise. We'll help get back all those furniture pieces. Just a question." Dular remarked, "Why are they in leaf form?"

"It's the easiest way to carry them. I would say, the reason why the furniture is in leaf form is the same as the reason why all of your items come in those colored boxes that the other birds dropped." Val replied, "It's just the way it is, why bother questioning it?"

"You have a point. Well, let's move on. Perri, Elliot, the monsters may have the other furniture pieces. Kill off all the beasts and let Val examine what's left. If we're lucky, the other pieces are here in the forest." Dular ordered.

"If it's a red box, it's mine." Perri grumbled as she walked in the lead again.

"Not if I see it first!" Elliot piped up, "_I_ hit the Al Rappy, remember?!"

Forest One was cleared easily, with none of the beasts dropping anymore of the strange leaves that Val was intent upon finding. Dular and the boy both looked at each other in exasperation when, at one point, a large furry creature called a Booma managed to drop the sought after red box and both Perri and Elliot got into another fight over it.

"What's with the red ones? Why chase after those? Are they good for Feng Shui or something?" Val asked as Perri stomped her platform shoe on Elliot's hand in an effort to keep him away from the box.

"Reds are rare things, hard to find and worth a lot of meseta sometimes." Dular replied as he walked up and picked up the box. Scanning it quickly with something he wore on his wrist, he sighed. "You two are pathetic." he scolded the Force and the Ranger, "It's another Photon Drop!"

"It's MY Photon Drop! There's a difference!" Perri yelled and ground her foot into Elliot's hand. "Isn't that **right**, Elliot?!"

"OW! OW! Get offa my hand, woman!" the Ranger shrieked, "Take the stupid thing, just get offa my shootin' hand!"

"Ha! I win! Hand it over, Dular!" Perri declared with a triumphant grin. Dular tossed her the box and sighed as she shoved it into her pack, getting up off of the Ranger who lay, whimpering, on the grass.

"She's like Periwinkle back home." Val muttered, "Took down a crowd of animals at Nookington's just to get the Lovely Bed because it was on sale for a couple thousand Bells."

"Let's go back to the ship real quick so I can put away MY Photon Drop." Perri remarked with a smile and cast another Ryuker pipe.

"It's just a phase. I'm pretty sure it's just a phase." Dular mumbled as the group headed into the pipe to restock on supplies and heal Elliot's hand.

* * *

The hunters' home was rather cozy and neat. Perri stowed away her drop as Dular bandaged up Elliot's hand. Seeing it as a good opportunity to check the leaf, Val brought out the furniture piece and tossed it forward. The leaf bloomed and revealed a Lovely Chair, the heart shaped seat achingly familiar to the boy. He sighed and picked it up, watching the chair transform into the leaf again. How long before he could get all the pieces and go home? How would he get home?

"Ready!" Perri cheered and led the group back to the pipe.

* * *

Forest Two was a bit more difficult. With wolves and Boomas constantly surrounding and attacking the group, Val found himself actually swinging his axe to fend off some of the beasts himself. He recoiled when the axe smashed into a Booma, slicing off an arm that fell to the ground and popped into the form of a red box.

"IT'S MINE!" Perri shrieked and dove at it, covering it with her body as a Hildebear, a giant ferocious-looking creature, suddenly leaped into the fray.

"Perri!! Barta!!" Dular screamed out and fell back as the beast made a swing at him, "Elliot!! Where are you?!"

"You got the last red one, this one's mine!" Elliot hissed, grabbing Perri's legs and dragging her around on her stomach as she held the box tightly in her hands. Dular rolled backwards and scrambled to avoid the Hildebear's advances.

"Guys?! A little help here?!" he yelled and lifted his hands as a last ditch effort to protect himself when the Hildebear cornered him, "PERRI!" A sudden wet 'Thwack!' sounded and Dular slowly peeked to see what had happened. The creature swayed on its feet, then fell forward just a few inches short of his feet, a Golden Axe buried in the back of its head. Val stood a few feet away, shaking. "Val?"

"What...was...that?" he stammered and swallowed hard, "You okay, Dular?" The Hunter smiled at him in relief, then blinked as Elliot ran by, still dragging Perri by the ankles as she held onto the box tightly.

"It's mine! I saw it first!" she wailed.

"You can't even use it! It's a body part and it gets turned into a claw type weapon that Rangers and Hunters use!" Elliot yelled, "Now, drop it!"

"NO! It's mine!"

Val walked up to the beast and grabbed the Axe, pulling it out and sitting back on the grass as Dular walked up and pat his back reassuringly. The boy looked a bit pale and hiccuped once.

"Thanks for the rescue. Come on. Let's see what this thing dropped for us." he murmured softly and walked to the fallen item. "Hmm, another leaf." Val perked up and scrambled over to pick it up. He inspected it, then slipped it into the pack. "Well, let's keep going. Guys..." Dular started and watched as Elliot raced by with the still screaming Perri, "Guys... GUYS! Knock it off!" he yelled and growled under his breath. He waited for Elliot to run by again, then snatched the box from Perri's grip as she was dragged by, "Give me that!! Man, I can't take you guys anywhere anymore." Dular muttered as he stowed the box away.

"Nice going, Perri, now neither of us get the box." Elliot grumbled and dropped her ankles.

"You shut up." Perri growled and got up, dusting herself off and sticking her tongue out, "You owe me a new outfit!"

"Why not sell your stupid Photon Drop and buy it yourself?" Elliot taunted and ducked, running and screaming as Perri gave chase, swinging the Twinkle Star around and raging at him.

"Ah, Mr. Resetti." Val murmured as he and Dular moved on to a teleporter nearby.

"You guys coming, or do you want to stay here and watch the teleporter?!" Dular yelled out. The two hunters immediately skidded to a halt and raced to join them in the machine. "Kids." Dular sighed as the teleporter took them into the building that was the Central Dome.

* * *

The group stepped cautiously along, not trusting the cave-like interior of the dome. Val was muttering to himself, clutching the axe in his hands and shaking.

"I don't like it here. I wanna go home. But I can't go home without the furniture. And I don't know how to go home!" he murmured in a frightened voice. "That's the last time I buy anything from Redd!"

"Hey! Keep it down back there!" Perri hissed over her shoulder, "You don't want to wake up the...!"

"Where's the stupid dragon that you said was down here, Dular?!" Elliot shouted. The group jumped as a huge roar sounded, echoing off the walls around them. Perri immediately whirled around and whacked her rod into Elliot's chest, yelling angrily.

"You idiot! Now it knows we're here!" she raged and brought the rod down on him again when the ranger doubled over, breathless. "If I die here, I'm going to kill you!"

"Perri, stop flirting with your boyfriend and run!" Dular yelled and raced to avoid the huge winged lizard that landed before them and blasted the area with plumes of flame from it's mouth. Val jumped again and scampered aside, screaming in terror. Perri beat the ranger down a few times, then turned to lash at the dragon's leg with the rod's special ability.

"Stupid lousy dragon!" she raved as she continued whacking away at it, not bothering with her usual techs, "You burned up my favorite rod the last time we duked it out! Now drop me a freaking red to trade in for a new one!" The dragon roared in pain and took flight to escape the blasts of lightning from the Twinkle Star rod. It had been rudely awakened and wanted to feed on the creatures that had roused it from its slumber. But this creature stung and bit with a familiar attack. It looked around for easier prey and spotted one of the creatures huddled in a crouch on the far side of the dome. It was frozen with terror.

Dular watched in shock as the dragon flapped its wings and made for Val, who stood rooted to his spot, wide eyes taking in the creature that closed in on him. The hunter immediately pulled out a small handgun and began firing desperately, hitting the dragon's wings, tail, feet, anything that was within range.

"Val! Run! For the love of heavens, run!" he shouted. The boy stared up at the dragon, too scared to move. Perri ran by Dular, throwing her rod aside as she reached out her hands for Val.

"Move it, kid!" she declared and grabbed him, darting aside as the huge lizard dove at the spot where they had been moments before. "Elliot! Make yourself useful and shoot the stupid thing!" she yelled out.

"You stepped on my shootin' hand again, woman!" the ranger yelled, waving the bandaged hand and holding his rifle with the other, "After that beating you gave me, defend your own ungrateful tail!" Perrinetta frowned and glanced up at her Mag. Denwark winked and lifted one sleeved hand.

"Denwark, you precious little Rukmin, I could kiss you!" she cooed at him, "Go right on ahead!" Denwark nodded and focused, eyes becoming dark and lidded.

Meantime, the dragon resurfaced and roared in a fury. The irritating creature had stolen away its food! It landed again and took a deep breath, ready to flood the area with flames once more.

"Now!" Perri declared, throwing her hand out at the dragon while her other arm held Valentine close. "Estlla!"

"Meru!" Denwark cried out his pet name for his former master and unleashed a huge multi-colored dolphin that shot straight into the beast. The energy from the summon overwhelmed the dragon and it fell aside, battered and lifeless.

"Perri! How's Val holding up?" Dular cried, running up to them with her rod in hand as the Rukmin sat on her shoulder, resting.

"Not too great and not too bad. I'm surprised he didn't wet his shorts." Perri remarked, setting Val down.

"Big...big...big..." the boy stammered, pointing a shaky finger at the dragon. The Forcer rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, big and stupid. Now, where's that red?" she muttered, walking off to the body for a closer look.

"Not fair! You got one already! It's mine!" Elliot wailed, struggling with his rifle and injured hand. Perri snooped around, spotted the item and frowned. She stood back and scratched at the tip of her nose.

"Yo, Val! It's another leaf thing! Come here and get it!" she called out. Val didn't stop shaking as he very cautiously walked over to her. "It's dead, don't worry about it." the newman remarked in exasperation.

"I'm more worried about it falling on us." Val managed to mutter as he picked up the leaf and studied it. He packed it away and sighed. "I never thought that I'd be in a place like this; fighting monsters to get pieces of furniture. Where could the rest of the pieces be?" Dular packed his gun away and walked up to them.

"Probably scattered in the caves below this complex." he replied and pointed at the hole the dragon had punched into the ground. "We can use that to get down there." Val blinked tiredly at the hole. The world began to spin around him. "Val? Are you okay? You look like you're about to..." Dular went on worriedly.

Val didn't hear the rest, only fell back to the ground and welcomed the blissful darkness that suddenly washed over him.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**Pioneer 2**

Val awoke to the smell of food and sat upright in a flash. Was everything a dream? He looked around quickly and sighed. No, he really was on a weird ship with weird people collecting furniture from the bodies of weird monsters. He put his head in his hands and groaned loudly. He wasn't meant for this kind of thing.

"Hey, Val! You're awake!" Elliot remarked cheerfully and shouted at the kitchen nearby, "Perri! Dular! He woke up!" Val looked up at him and found him sitting on a couch with him.

"Meru!" Denwark grumbled and shoved his head under a throw pillow, also awakened from his nap by the ranger's yell. Perri stuck her head out of the kitchen and smiled brightly.

"Hey, all right! Just in time for lunch! We're gonna stock up on supplies and then head down to the caves, okay with you, Val?" she remarked as she came out with a platter of sandwiches and cookies. "We're basically broke, not many missions available for us, so I hope you like simple meals."

"Um, okay, thanks." Val murmured and looked down at his Golden Axe on the table near him. It had been cleaned up and shone brightly. Dular entered the room with several cups in one arm and a pitcher of juice. He noticed the pensive face on the boy and looked worried.

"Val? Are you sure you're all right?" he asked. Val swung his legs around and stood up, grabbing the axe in one hand. He looked determined.

"Those things have my girlfriend's furniture series." he muttered and reached into his pack, pulling out the two leaves. He tossed them onto the floor and watched them pop open to reveal the Lovely Lamp and Lovely Armchair. Perri blinked at them.

"Hey, that's actually kinda cute. I wonder if we can get something like that for our house." she mumbled. Val took them down and repacked them.

"We eat fast and then head out. I'm not going to let Periwinkle down! I promised to take care of her home until she got back and I'm going to get every last piece of it back!" Val declared angrily, "I was going to play the game I got and work up the courage to ask her to marry me and then **this **happened! Well, I'm going to get it all back, go home and pop the question! And no monster, no matter how big, no matter how scary, no matter how powerful, is gonna keep me from achieving my dreams!" He thrust his fist into the air as he finished. The others stared at him in silence.

"Wow. Didn't think you had the guts to take on Ragol, little dude." Elliot remarked and bit into a cookie. Perri grinned hugely and set the platter down.

"Oh **yeah**! **Now **we're in business! Monsters, treasure and furniture! Here we come!" she declared and lifted her fist too. Val laughed and grabbed a sandwich.

"Right after lunch." he finished and took a bite.

* * *

**Cave, Level 1**

Dular, Perrinetta, Elliot, and Valentine; a most unlikely group of heroes. They stood in the first section of the caves, ignoring the lava that flowed around them and the blistering heat that would have killed them had they left behind their hunter gear. Val glanced down briefly at his arm. Dular had insisted that he be somewhat equipped to handle the planet and so gave him a strange wristband that contained many devices he had never seen before. One of them was making sure his temperature was normal and that the heat didn't affect him too badly.

"Okay, everyone ready?" Dular asked. Perri swapped her Twinkle Star at home with a Burning Rod, figuring the fire element and her collection of Foie techniques could handle the monsters better than the rare she had before. She held it up and nodded. "Elliot?" The Ranger pat his rifle and grinned. He had yet to come across a rare weapon of his own. "Val?" Dular asked softly, tightening his grip on the Calibur he had found long ago.

"Let's go!" Val growled, Golden Axe in hand. Perri twirled the rod and cast her spells, then raced out with her friends to clear the caves.

Sensing and seeing the intruders to their domain, beasts of all shapes and sizes descended on the tiny group. Elliot stayed far from them, picking off strange green and pink creatures called Evil Sharks and Pal Sharks before they got too close to the group. Perri activated the special power of her rod each time she swung it at a monster, yelling in triumph whenever they dropped a box as they died.

"Anything yet, Val?!" Dular shouted, swinging his sword through a pair of large white flowers that snapped at him viciously. The boy swung the axe and let it fly, slamming it into the side of a strange small dragon that tried to fly away from the slaughter. It dropped to the ground and added to the mess that was gathering on the floor. Val ran up to examine it and ripped the Golden Axe out, frustrated.

"Nothing! It must be deeper in the level!" he called back, "What **are **these things?!" Perri huffed and puffed as she fired off a few quick Foie spells.

"That was a Nano Dragon! And thanks for taking it out! If it killed other monsters first, it would get stronger from their essence!" she yelled, "Don't ask how it works, it just does! And Dular's got his hands full with Poison Lilies! Give him a hand!"

The group cleared the area and traveled onwards, fighting whatever came at them and letting Val sift through the remains in search of the leaves he needed. Dular watched over the hunters as he poked around a mass of bodies in one particularly large and nasty room.

"Meru!" Denwark squeaked happily as Perri handed him a small capsule. He popped it into his mouth and spun in joy in the air, hands up on his cheeks as he squealed again.

"Trimates again?" Elliot asked with a frown, "We don't have many of those, you know." Perri stuck her tongue out at him and cracked open a second capsule. Silvery energy flowed out of it and surrounded her, winking out view as she absorbed it into her body. "We don't have many Difluids left either."

"Nothing!" Val suddenly shouted and kicked at the broken remnants of a Grass Assassin, a giant preying mantis-like creature that he had whacked with his Golden Net as a distraction while Dular finished it off. The hunter lifted his arm and watched a holographic map form above it. It spun slowly as he studied it.

"We have two or three rooms left before we hit the teleporter that was set up here by WORKS. Maybe they have some more pieces." he replied. Val shouldered the axe and sighed.

"Okay, let's keep going then. Funny, my body doesn't seem to hurt as much anymore. At first, all this fighting was killing me, now it just aches a bit here and there." he murmured and shrugged. The group pulled together and headed off once again.

"Incoming!" Elliot cried as the group fought back ferociously. The last room had been pitch black with darkness. Val darted around, weaving past unseen enemies to reach a glowing switch at the far side of the room. When the cave was lit up, they could see the ambush that had gotten them. Taken by surprise, Dular dropped the Calibur in favor of the daggers he carried for up close and personal hits. Perri held her rod out defensively, blocking the blows from the Sharks' bladed arms and trying to find an opening for a counterattack. Elliot couldn't get out of range to use his rifle well and began punching whatever moved before him to keep them away from his friends.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Val cried and hacked away at the monsters from behind with his axe. The beasts dispersed some to find him out and fight back, giving the hunters enough room to scatter and really fight back. Perri channeled her energy and thrust out both hands at one group of monsters.

"Rafoie!" she cried and smiled as the Sharks fell under the massive blast of fire that suddenly erupted among them. She jumped when she heard a cry of pain and looked around. Elliot stumbled and fell from a blow dealt by a strangely bulky creature that had joined in suddenly. "Elliot! That's a Vulmer! Get away from it!" she cried and screamed as it chased after the stumbling ranger. "Dular! A Vulmer's chasing Elliot!"

"Hands full!" Dular yelled as he fought to get out of a corner a trio of Sharks put him in. Val scampered in from out of nowhere, a Golden Shovel in one hand, a strange white orb in the other. Tossing the ball up, Val quickly dug up a hole in front of him and watched the orb fall into it. He then covered up the pit and grinned at the star shape that appeared before him.

"Elliot! Run this way and jump when I say!" he cried and took some steps back. The ranger raced towards him, quickly followed by the beast. "Now!" Elliot leaped over the star shape and collapsed in a tired heap on the floor. The Vulmer continued running and stepped on the star, activating the orb. The pit fell open under it and the beast was trapped, struggling and roaring in a fury.

"What in the world?" Perri remarked in surprise as Val tossed aside the shovel and grabbed his axe. Lifting it up high, he brought it down with a satisfying Thunk! right in the creature's head, killing it instantly. "Elliot! Val! You guys okay?!" the Forcer cried. Dular finished off the last Shark and sighed tiredly, walking up to the two boys. He knelt by Elliot and examined him as Val snatched a roll of paper from the Vulmer's claw and kicked it in the head again out of spite.

"He's hurt pretty bad. That was a critical hit." Dular murmured as Perri ran up to them, "Try your Resta spell, maybe it will help him." The newman nodded shakily and closed her eyes, bringing her hands up to her heart.

"Heal, my friend. Resta, restore his strength and health." she whispered and held out her hands, channeling restorative energy through her and into the silent ranger. She pulled back and waited anxiously. Elliot stirred after what seemed like an eternity and groaned.

"The red box is mine." he muttered, eyes fluttering open and looking around in a daze. Perri laughed in relief and shook her head as Dular smiled and sat back.

"In your dreams, Shooter Boy!" she retorted and helped him to his feet, "Well, Val? Anything?" Valentine walked up to them and held up the roll with a triumphant grin.

"Got the Lovely Wallpaper! And I saw something red over in that corner..." he added, pointing at the distance. Perri immediately shoved Elliot down and ran off, stepping on his chest as she did so.

"Mine! It's mine! I saw it first!" she yelled as Elliot scrambled to give chase. Dular looked after them and sighed.

"That's not a red box. That's the teleporter to the second level." he grumbled. Val laughed and walked with him towards it.

"Well, least they got there quicker than last time." he remarked brightly, picking up his shovel as they passed it by.

* * *

**Caves, Level 2**

As the group traveled through the caves, Val rubbed his head again and winced when he felt the bump on the back of his head. He had gotten his first whack from Perri once she learned the red he had spotted was the teleporter and not a box. The group stepped into the depths of the caves' second level and paused in awe of the cool air and pools of sparkling water. The crystalline walls and lush plant-life made it look so peaceful, despite the many monsters they had battled through mere moments before.

"I always feel so calm here." Perri murmured and ran to one of the pools, laughing, "I'm thirsty! How about you, Denwark?" The mag cheered and knelt by her to drink some of the clear cool water. The other hunters joined her soon after and sat around to rest. Val took the time to check his pack and began putting leaves into the envelopes. Dular watched with interest as the leaves transformed into stamps on the envelopes. After he had all the furniture and the wallpaper stowed away on them, Val slid the letters into a separate pocket in his pack. He sighed and leaned back against a tree, looking up at the floating jelly-fish like creatures with a wistful look.

"I wonder how Periwinkle's doing. Is she home yet or is she still in Animal Acres?" he murmured and looked at Dular with a grin. "My parents were about ready to blow their lids when I told them some five years ago that I wanted to go out to see the world and settled in Animal Crossing. I can only imagine how they'd react to me being here on Ragol."

"You look about ten or twelve to me." the hunter replied in surprise. Val snorted and laughed.

"My size. My world has the humans this size, I'm actually twenty-two." he remarked and pulled out the Golden Axe again. "Never in my whole life did I ever think that I would have to use this or any of my tools to destroy a life." he murmured sadly, "I can't look at this axe the same way ever again. I've killed living things with it."

"You didn't have a choice." Perri suddenly put in and sat beside him, "They would have killed you first. We have no choice but to fight back."

"Man, this is depressing me. Come on, let's see if the creatures in the next room have red boxes." Elliot remarked and ran off, rifle ready for action.

"Perri, do we have any idea what Level Three looks like?" Dular suddenly asked as he and the others followed Elliot. The newman blinked and looked up at him, worried.

"Not a clue. We never made it to Cave 3. We got ambushed and taken straight to Mine 2 when we were looking for Denwark's master long ago." she replied and sighed, "We wouldn't have been able to escape if this little Rukmin hadn't given us the locket with the coded message about De Rol Lei's weakness to Foie attacks." Elliot suddenly ran into them, breathless and beaming.

"I found a Beam!" he declared and held out the improved rifle, "The scanner says it's unknown, so it must be something cool!" He ran back to the next part of the caves, "Come on! There's more cool stuff! But watch out for the Pan Arms! That thing reeks when it's dead!" The group followed along-side, covering their faces as they ran by the dead creatures.

* * *

"We've been here for hours and there's no leaf!" Perri wailed after a few more rooms yielded plenty of items but no furniture. Dular rolled his eyes as he watched Val throw his axe almost expertly at another Nano Dragon, bringing it down.

"Quit griping. For all we know, level three has all the rest of the pieces!" he remarked. Val let out a yell of victory and picked up a leaf from the dragon. "See? Found one already!" the hunter said smugly.

"That's what you said back in Cave One! And in Forest Section 2!" Perri retorted, "For all we know, Red Ring Rico's around here somewhere with a Lovely Sword or something!" Val ran back to join them, grinning proudly as he shouldered the axe.

"You're getting better at hunting, Val. Sure you don't want to register as one at the guild?" Dular asked, ignoring his partner. Val sighed and looked glum again.

"Thanks, but no thanks. If I become a hunter, I'll just be reminded of all this killing. I'm trying to block it out, but every time a monster comes at me, it's like something takes control." he muttered and shook his head. "Oh well. Next level?" Dular lifted his map and nodded.

"Yeah, the teleporter's in the next room. Let's go and see what's so scary about Cave Three!" he declared and led the way to the third level of the cave.

* * *

**Caves Three**

The caves looked suspicious. Beams and pillars lined the walls and the floor looked too artificial, too man-made. Dular looked around as the group trekked through them.

"Something tells me that this section was mined out for something. The teleporter at the end of this area must lead to the first level of the mines." he remarked. "What were the people of Pioneer One up to down here?" he added under his breath. Perri clutched her rod and looked around warily.

"There aren't any monsters anywhere here. It's kinda creepy." she muttered. Val walked alongside Dular, whistling cheerfully.

"I like it better that way!" he said brightly and stopped suddenly, eyes wide. The group noticed and stopped with him.

"Val? What's up, little dude?" Elliot asked. Val closed his eyes and held up a hand, sniffing at the air.

"That smell. Can you smell it?" he asked softly. Perri blinked at him and closed her own eyes, sniffing delicately. Denwark sniffed with her and squealed happily.

"Is that...?" Perri murmured in confusion. Dular and Elliot looked at each other, shrugged, and sniffed at the air. Elliot took in a deep breath and let it out, smiling stupidly.

"Ah...sweetness..." he sighed, "Perri, that perfume is niiiiice..." The newman's eyes went wide and she spun around, ramming the end of the rod into his gut. "Goorf!" Elliot grunted and bent over.

"Shut up! Are you coming onto me, you little wienie?!" she yelled and whapped his back with the rod once more. Dular snapped back at them.

"Perri! Knock it off! That smell isn't perfume! It's cake!" he told them. Perri halted and blinked up at him. Elliot managed to lift his head and blink in confusion as well.

"Cake?!" they both exclaimed. Val cheered and jumped, thrusting a fist into the air.

"The Birthday Cake! Periwinkle's Birthday Cake! It's here!" he yelled and raced up ahead. The hunters ran after him.

"Cake, cake, cake! Come and get some cake!" a young woman called out brightly as her sisters tended to a fresh batch from a pink kitchen set next to their cart. Val and the hunters rushed into the cavern and came to a halt, staring in shock at the cart and the women.

"Cool! Chicks!" Elliot declared and earned another gut punch from Perri. While the Forcer dealt a few more blows, yelling at the ranger in a fury, Dular and Val walked up to the cart and the rows of cakes.

"Hello! Welcome to the Naura Cake Shop! Would you like to buy some of our fine cakes?" the first sister asked sweetly. Val scanned the rows of cakes and jumped again. He pointed at one that sat alone, a circle of strawberries surrounding a printed card on top of its white icing.

"That one!" he cried, "That's the cake!" The woman smiled and nodded.

"That cake suddenly appeared on our table, along with this pink kitchen set. We've been using it to bake cakes, since our normal one is broken down for the moment. All of the cakes that come from that kitchen look so delicious!" she replied, "This cake is 1000 meseta. Would you like to buy it?"

"I only have Bells. What are meseta?" Val whispered to the hunter. Dular brought out a bright yellow crystal and showed it to him.

"This is a meseta. It's our currency. We find them as these crystals and put them in banks. We get these cards back that have the amount of meseta you put in written to them." he explained, "I'll buy the cake for you. We've found quite a handful of meseta on our journey."

"The kitchen you talked about. Is it pink and pretty?" Val asked the woman next. She nodded and pointed at it.

"That's it right there. The one next to it is our usual kitchen and the oven broke down." she replied. Val jumped again.

"That's the Lovely Kitchen! Wow! Two of the furniture pieces in the same place! How lucky is that?!" he cried out as Dular bought the cake and handed it to Val. The boy took it and watched it turn into a leaf that he packed away. "Can I have my kitchen back too?" he asked the woman.

"It's yours? Oh, but can we keep it? Ours is broken down!" the sisters pleaded. Dular sighed and scratched his head as Val looked glum.

"If we fix it, can he get his kitchen back?" the hunter offered. The women nodded eagerly. "Yo, Elliot! We got work for you!" Dular shouted back over his shoulder, "You're good at fixing things! Perri! Don't bend his arm that way! You'll pop it out of place again!" he added. Val groaned and put a hand to his head.

"Why do I get the feeling that things will just get worse?" he mumbled.

* * *

Val trekked along happily some two hours later with his friends, two pieces of the Lovely Series back in his possession. Elliot sported several streaks of oil and grease on his face, as well as a few lipstick smudges from the cake sisters. Perri walked along behind Dular, arms folded over her chest and scowling, her cheeks bright red.

"That was a cool job. Can I do that again the next time they have an oven break down?" Elliot asked brightly.

"Maybe. We'll see." Dular replied cautiously, sneaking a peek back at Perri, who only scowled worse than before.

"Where to next?" Val asked as they continued marching along the strangely empty caves. Dular checked the map and grinned.

"The next teleporter is just up ahead. It should take us to the Underground Channel. We'll catch a raft there and head for the mines some ten, twelve miles away." he replied and poked his head through one door. "Ah! Here it is!" The group headed into the red machine and waited for Dular to activate it. "Okay, here we go!"

The teleporter dumped the heroes next to an underground river. A raft tied to a small port floated nearby and they climbed aboard. Val sat down and made himself comfortable as Dular undid the ropes holding it fast and pushed off. The raft buzzed and began to float downstream, picking up speed as it went. Perri knelt by the edge and peered over it at the water.

"Ewwww! This water looks nasty! I'm not touching it!" she declared and sat back. Elliot grinned and put his hands behind his head.

"How's about I push you in? Can little Forcers swim? Ha, ha!" he teased. Perri jumped up and glared at him.

"How's about I shove you in so's you can wash that lipstick offa your face?!" she retorted, her hands on her hips. Dular sighed and put his hand over his face, shaking his head.

"What did I do to deserve this, God?" he asked under his breath as Val hummed a tune and kicked his feet back and forth.

"This is like Kap'n's little boat back at Animal Crossing. I love boat rides!" he remarked brightly. The hunters settled to enjoy a peaceful ride when a sudden wave rocked the raft. They looked around, confused.

"What was that?" Perri murmured, "It can't be De Rol Lei. We killed it the last time we were here." She looked up at Dular fearfully. "Didn't we?" Elliot turned white and began jabbing his finger out at the water.

"Wha-wha-wha-?!" he stammered, shaking like crazy. Val frowned at the water. What was going on now?

"Speak up, Elliot! What is it?" Dular demanded. Elliot swallowed hard and finally steadied himself.

"What in God's name is THAT thing?!" he screamed as a huge, centipede-like monster reared up from beneath the surface of the river, roared, and then dove back in, chasing after the raft. The hunters panicked for a few seconds, then scrambled to get equipped for battle. Val curled up in a ball and huddled in the center of the raft, clutching his head and whimpering.

"Bana! Let's go!" Dular called out as a dragon-like mag flew out of his pack and took a position beside him. "We know the drill, Perri! Lots of fire!" Perrinetta took up a stance, her hands free for her to use her Rafoie spells that much more quickly. "Elliot! Stop hugging your Pushan like it's the end of the world! Get your gun!" The ranger grabbed the beam and held it ready.

"I knew I should have done as Mom said and become a loan shark." he grumbled and aimed at the water. The monster came up alongside the raft, its head hidden within a strange looking mask. Dular blinked at it as Perri yelled and cast her strongest fire spells to attack. Though the monster took burns and damage from the flames, it didn't seem to react to them like De Rol Lei had.

"Come on, you oversized worm!" Perri snarled, "Fry already! Denwark! I could use a boost here!" The Rukmin bounced in midair and spread its arms, uttering a small cry as a wave of energy flowed over the group, strengthening them. "Oh yea! Shifta and Deband! Come on, worm! Die!"

"That's not De Rol Lei!" Dular yelled as it heaved itself out of the water and bit the raft. Val scrambled to get away and stared at it in horror. "Fire spells aren't working! That's got to be something else!"

"Well, what else could it be?! The worm's twin brother or something?!" Perri yelled back as Elliot set in with blasts from his rifle. Tentacles flew from the creature's head, stabbing at them. The hunters ran, trying to attack and dodge them at the same time. The Forcer continued using her fire spells, not sure of what else could harm the creature. At least it was doing something, right?

"It's going back under!" Elliot cried as the worm released the raft and headed back to the water. The hunters looked around, wary of what would happen next. All around the raft, the water churned and boiled. "When is it coming back up?" Elliot asked and cried out as the raft suddenly was heaved to one side.

"Now the dang thing's trying to flip us over!" Perri yelled, "If we don't get it out of the water for us to kill it, we're done for!" Val blinked and grinned. Crazy idea, but it just might work.

"Okay! Golden Rod!" he cried and pulled the golden fishing rod from his pack. He swung it back, then cast his line into the river. The hunters stared at him in shock as he stood calmly, whistling and bobbing his head along, the black and yellow floater drifting on the surface alongside the raft.

"Is he, you know?" Perri whispered to Dular, circling her finger beside her head, "You think maybe he lost it somewheres?" Dular shrugged helplessly and shook his head, unable to understand what was going on.

"Oh, come on! No one can resist the Golden Rod!" Val griped and shrieked as the line was grabbed and yanked, dragging him into the river where he vanished beneath the surface.

"Valentine!" Dular cried as Perri screamed in horror. Elliot turned white again, staring with wide eyes at the river.

"He's dead. There's no way he'll survive that." he whispered shakily.

* * *

Minutes passed as if they were hours, and as the three hunters tried to shoot into the water in desperate attempts to bring the monster to the surface, the water began to churn and boil again. With an explosive splash of water and exoskeletal pieces, Da Ral Lie burst through and fell heavily onto the raft, squalling in pain. The face mask was cracked badly and clinging to the fishing rod with all his strength was Val, swinging blindly with his Golden Axe. Hat missing and short brown hair disheveled, the little guy shrieked at the top of his lungs as he hacked away at the worm.

"Don't just stand there gawking at me!" he yelled, "GET ME DOWN FROM THIS THING!!!!" The hunters jumped and fell upon the creature, attacking with shots, slices and whacks from the rod.

"Let me try a quick blast of Gizonde!" Perrinetta declared as she stuffed the weapon back into her pack. Val's eyes grew wide and he shook his head.

"Nonononono! Don't do that!" he wailed as she let the electric burst fly out. The trail ran up the fishing pole's line, which was stuck in Da Ral Lie's mouth, and zapped Val. "Yaiaiaiaiaie!" The line snapped and Val tumbled head over heels off the monster and onto the raft. The worm flailed helplessly, tentacles stabbing blindly about as the two male hunters finished it off.

"Let me have the final blow!" Perri yelled and threw out her hand, "Rukmin! Summon Golla, the Elk of Wild Souls!" The Mag cheered and spun, throwing up its hands to create a shape of an elk above him. The creature, stamped its feet and brought itself up, unleashing a blast of energy that crackled and cooked the giant worm. Da Ral Lie heaved itself off the raft, shrieked once, then sank into the water, never to rise again.

"Valentine!" Dular yelled as Elliot threw himself at the item left behind by the monster. Val sat up and rubbed his head, pouting as the last few sparks leaped from the ends of his now spiky hair.

"I liked that hat." he mumbled. The Hunter laughed and rubbed his head as Perri and Elliot set to fighting over the item drop. "So what did we get out of this?"

"Another leaf." Perri grumbled as she smacked Elliot's hand with her rod, "Drop it!" Val collected it and sighed in relief as the raft neared a docking station. "Dular! This is it! The entrance to the mines!"

"I bet there are tons of new monsters and rares in there!" Elliot declared excitedly, rubbing his hand as Dular brought the raft up to port.

"No monsters, just robots gone nuts, or so the reports all say." Dular corrected and helped his friends set foot on dry land. "Well, how much do we have mapped out about the mines, Perri?" The Forcer brought up her holo-map and activated it. After a few moments, she sighed.

"We don't have much mapped out. We bailed out in a hurry when WORKS was on our case." she answered, "I know for sure, though, that there are only two levels for the mines, as well as pathways leading deeper down that aren't classified as mines or caves."

"What could they be then?" Val asked, smoothing down his hair and holding the two golden items in one arm. Perri shrugged. "That doesn't tell us much."

"The only sure way to find out is to explore it and finish mapping the area." Dular remarked with a grin as Elliot rubbed his hands together with glee.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll even find Rico somewhere here! Ya think maybe the reason why you got chased so bad by WORKS was 'cause they had her prisoner here?" he pointed out.

"That's a possibility. Anyway, I thought another team of Hunters was looking for Red Ring Rico. Oh well. If we find her first, maybe we'll get a good reward?" Dular mused aloud. Perri pumped her fists into the air.

"Oh yeah! Rares galore! Can I get a 'Whoooop!'!?" she cheered.

"No." the hunters replied as they walked on into the mines.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Mines 1

"Yaaaah!" Val shrieked as he ran around in circles. Perri lashed out several times with blasts of Gizonde as Dular led the packs of Gillchics around for Elliot to pick off. "What are these things?! They're alive! They're robots! They're living furniture gone wrong!"

"They're gonna drop me a red box if they know what's good for them, that's what they are!" Perri declared as the machines fell to pices after several blows. A bright red item dropped suddenly from one. "IT'S MINE!" She dropped her attack position and went tearing after it. Valentine quickly recovered and stared at her as she picked it up and cuddled it, cheeks pink and blushing. "Mine, mine, it's all mine!" she cooed. A strange, bulky looking robot dropped down from above and raised a dagger like object.

"Perri! Look out!" Val yelled and hurled the axe at it. The Forcer cried and covered her head as the axe embedded itself into the Sinow Beat's head and short-circuited the machine. "What was that?!" he asked in shock as he ran up and recollected the Golden Axe. Dular and Elliot ran up after the other robots were destroyed and helped her get up.

"That was a Sinow Beat. I don't know exactly why the people of Pioneer 1 would wanted to have built them, or why they have these mines here." Dular remarked, "Well, Perri, are you happy? You nearly got decapitated over a red box!"

"It's my red box." Perrinetta murmured shakily, hugging the item tightly. "TP/Revival."

"From a Gillchic?!" Elliot exclaimed. The girl shook her head.

"It was funky looking. The plate on it said Gillchich." she answered and opened the box. An odd square chip fell into her palm and she plugged it into a slot on her armband. "I'm just wondering if it's normal for those things to drop units for mental abilities."

"Not for our clan, as far as I know." Dular murmured, "Or Elliot's. Don't the Redria boast that they find the best defensive gear?"

"Maybe. Val, did you check the area yet?" Elliot muttered, scratching his head. Val shook his head and set out in search of the next leaf, kicking over bits and pieces of robots to see if a green leaf lay hidden among the debris. "Okay, so while he's doing that, what are we going to do about this place? And Rico? Don't we have any knowledge as to what's going on with everything here?"

"We know that someone is hiding something. It's weird, like the people of Coral are being manipulated to come here. Didn't Zoke say several times before he died for Pioneer 2 to turn back?" Perri asked, "I think there's something really, really wrong with Ragol, and none of the government officials or the military want to let us know about it."

"Rico is missing, the people of Pioneer 1 all disappeared when that explosion went off, the Central Dome is missing a percentage of materials in construction, even the three AIs are involved in this!" Dular sighed, "Remember that one guy who went on that mission with Montague? He said that there were three computer AIs that were sent with Pioneer 1 to Ragol. All three survived, but only two have been found here in this section of Ragol."

"So where's the third?" Elliot asked in confusion. Dular shrugged. "This is too weird. It's a conspiracy!" he declared, "We're all gonna die and we'll never know what killed us!"

"Shut up!" Perri snapped, "We're not gonna die! We're gonna find Rico and she'll tell us what the heck's goin' on and then we'll all get back on the ship and hightail it back to Coral! The planet may be messed up, ecologically speaking, but it sure as heck doesn't have giant monsters that wanna skewer us on their appendages!"

"Perri, what did I say about using big words around Elliot?" Dular sighed and jumped when Val suddenly shrieked. "Val!" The three hunters raced towards the direction of the voice and stopped short of strange red robot that held the little man under one arm. "That thing! It's a Sinow Red! I've heard of those things!" Dular cried, "Valentine! Get away from it!"

"I'm trying! This thing jumped me when I got to the far end of the room!" Val yelled, struggling to get free. The machine faced off against the hunters, who took up fighting stances in preparation for a battle. Instead of launching an attack, the Red merely turned on them and leaped nimbly away, silently signalling a pack of Sinow Blues to drop down and surround the group. "Guys! Help!" Val cried helplessly, reaching out to the hunters as they began to fight off the horde of robots that descended on them, "GUUUUUYS! HEEELLLLP!"

"We'll come for you soon, Val! Hang on and don't give up!" Dular yelled and suddenly fell under as three more Blues closed in on him. Val could only shriek and kick as the Red sped away deeper into the mines.

* * *

It was sometime later that Val was finally dumped onto the floor of one room. The Sinow Red stood nearby as a group of men blinked down at him. Val scrambled to get up and rubbed his head, scowling. One Ranger tapped another on the shoulder.

"This is the kid that's been reported to be a Pioneer 1 survivor?" he asked the obviously-in-charge Ranger. The leader shrugged confusedly and studied Val cautiously.

"Hey, kid. Who're you and what are you doing with that bunch of troublemakers in our turf?!" he barked after a moment. Val brushed himself off and glared up at him.

"You the guy who sicced this thing on me?" he asked, jerking a thumb back at the machine that still stood waiting behind him. The ranger waved his hand at it and the robot left the room. "How'd you get that thing under your control anyway?"

"That's none of your concern. Just answer my questions!" the ranger snapped.

"Name's Valentine. I'm here in search of furniture." Val answered shortly, "Where are my friends? Last I saw them, your walking robo-stereo sicced a pack of his pals on them. They'd better be okay, or you'll get it from me!" The group only laughed.

"You threaten us? Members of the powerful Black Paper organization? Don't you know anything about us, kid?" the ranger snickered.

"Why should I be scared of stationary? And don't call me 'kid'!" Val snorted, "Where am I? I demand you take me back to my friends! They need my help!" The ranger grinned knowingly at him.

"My name is L'zac Gerun, and this is the second level of the mines. You're not going anywhere. We have some... tests... for you to undertake." he revealed and the dark smile grew wider as the men around him continued laughing. Val blinked and shrank back as they closed in on him, suddenly feeling very small and wishing for the warm comforts of his home in Animal Crossing.

* * *

"Down! Down! Back! Back! Go! Go!" Perri yelled as she whacked her rod down on the last Sinow Blue's head, jamming it and the rest of its packmates down a cramped drainage pipe. Dular winced as Elliot wrapped his arm in bandages. The three hunters had finally destroyed the horde of robots, but not without suffering a few injuries of their own. Pushan hung upside down from a beam in the ceiling as Elliot finished tending to Dular's gashed arm and turned to start on Perri's leg, which suffered from a few cuts and was stained deep crimson.

"Perri, cut that out. You'll clog it up and then we'll have weird gunk backing up on us later on. I know it." Dular sighed and rested his cheek on one fist. Perri ignored him, still jabbing at the piles of parts until the rod finally snapped in two. "Well, now you've broken your weapon."

"I don't care!" she screamed and glared at him, eyes full of angry tears. She was heaving and Rukmin was floating behind Dular, too afraid of Perri's current state to be near her. "That thing's got Val and for all we know it might have turned him inside out and splattered him all over the walls!" Elliot winced and wrapped the white gauze around her left leg a few more times. "We've gotta find him! Fast! Before anything happens to him!"

"In the condition we're in, we're more likely to get killed than Val is." Elliot finally said, finishing up and stepping back to admire his handiwork. "Nice."

"Stop staring at my legs!" Perri yelled at him and shook her fist, not noticing the other assorted bandages the ranger had carefully and easily put on her while she'd been taking out her anger on the Blues. "I may not have my rod, but I have other things to hit you with!"

"Like what?" Elliot teased. The Forcer fumed and pulled off her hat, hurling it at him and then yelping in pain. She held her arm and whimpered. "Dular's right. We have to go back to Pioneer 2 and get healed at the Guild Hospital." he added, scooping up the hat and handing it back to her.

"But what if Val... while we're gone... what if...?" she murmured fearfully, looking up at him, "I'd give up all the reds in my inventory if we could get him back safe and alive."

"Then we'd better get started." Dular replied, standing up and using his sword as a crutch. "Elliot, get your Pushan. Perri, can you pipe us back?" Elliot whistled and the bat flew down to rest on his shoulder, looking drowsy. It had used up two bursts almost consecutively and was worn out. Rukmin looked about the same, staggering through the air to land on Perri's head and yawn.

"Ryuker, coming up." Perri sighed and focused her thoughts on creating a bridge between their current position and the hospital on the ship. A beam of glowing light shone up from an ellipsis on the floor and she opened her eyes. "There." They walked in and headed back to the ship, hurrying as quickly as their battered bodies would allow.

* * *

L'zac and the members of one of Black Paper's many small branches discussed what they learned among themselves. They had been baffled, then as the realization of what they were learning from the tests on Val began to dawn on them, the idea of a vast new world of resources and riches began to become more and more appealing. The only problem was their inability to find a way to reach that world. But then again, with the backing of Black Paper's many sources of wealth, the bridge to the strange world from which Val came would soon be open to them.

"How's the kid doing?" L'zac suddenly asked one of his men. The hunter grinned cruelly.

"Not too well, I'm afraid. Our concoctions of truth serums and tests are pretty much wreaking havoc on his system." he reported. L'zac shrugged and swirled a glass of wine in one hand.

"His sacrifice will be for a noble cause. Black Paper will become even more powerful and the Alliance will be unable to stop our movements on Coral and here on Ragol. Although it would be much easier if the agents on Pioneer 1 actually made it to us..." he murmured just as a blast of fire erupted nearby. Rangers, Hunters and Forces all raced to find out what was happening as L'zac leaped up and roared in a fury. "WHO DID THAT?!" he bellowed in rage. Smoke and flames flooded the room as a young man stuck his head in from a hole in the wall. He grinned impishly.

"Heya, guys! Mind if I start a barbecue here?" he asked and hurled another few waves of Foie into the room.

"It's that demon Forcer again!" one Hunter fumed between coughs, fumbling for his daggers, "Mako Tiburon!" The red-clad Forcer waved at them cheerfully from his position at the wall.

"You guys have heard of me?! Cool! I'm a celebrity!" he laughed, "Hey! L'zac! Ya know where my baby sis is?! I promise to roast you quicker if ya tell me!"

"Why would I know anything about your sister?! Do I look like a Force babysitter?!" the ranger snapped back, "Everyone! Let's get out of here before the equipment blows and kills us all! We got what we wanted! Let him die with that kid!" Black Paper Forces began opening pipes all over, escaping through them with dozens of others racing after them. Mako pouted and leaned against the wall, arms behind his head.

"She's actually a Ranger, but she was supposed to be a Forcer like me." he remarked offhandedly to no one. "Oh well. I'll just ask the next bunch I find." He looked around at the mess and raised an eyebrow. He frowned and looked back through the hole in the wall. "Yami, Hikari, Ryoko! Enough with the illusions! They're gone already!" he yelled. A pair of Pians and a Chao flew in and giggled as the illusionary flames faded away. "You enjoyed that far too much. I'm starting to think you three are more pyromanic than me and baby sis put together!" Mako remarked and headed into the next room, "Now come on! The bozos were talking about some kid in here. Let's see if he's okay."

In the next room, the Forcer found a small figure lying on its back on a medical table. The room itself was fairly bare, with a few computers scattered about, displaying information that Mako would look at later on. Next to the table and the small body was a tray of syringes. Mako winced and sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Here we go again." he grumbled, "Stupid underground organizations and their experiments on innocent people... Let's see what they did to you, little dude." He studied the small figure for a second, then yelped. "Yack! That's a nasty mix of serums they used on you! Yami! Hikari! Get over here! I'm gonna need a good boost of strength for this one!" The Pians flew over and floated nearby as Mako lifted Val from the table and held him close. The small figure was pale and trembling.

"M-m-my f-f-friendsss..." he stammered and coughed. The Pians concentrated as Mako closed his eyes and focussed all of his energy on the little figure.

"What was done, make undone. Draw the strength from earth and sun. Purest air, purest sea, give the gift of purity." he muttered as a soft white light shone from his hands and spread over Val completely. "Reverser, bring back the light of life!" The glow burst into a brilliant silver flash that nearly blinded the Chao Mag that wandered into the room, then died away. Mako fell back against the table and grumbled under his breath. "Reverser takes a lot outta a guy. Hey, dude, you better be grateful I saved your life with that technique. My energy's tapped out."

"Huh?" Val blinked in surprise and looked himself over. He felt a lot better than before, when the members of Black Paper started poking and injecting him with strange chemicals. He vaguely remembered what else they had done to him, and decided it was better that he didn't remember. "Uh, thanks. You're not with the stationary guys, are you?" he asked suspiciously. Mako set him on the floor and stretched as Ryoko the Chao fluttered onto his shoulder and scolded him.

"Me? Nah! I'm the Scarlet Tiburon! Scourge of the Underground Alliances!" he replied brightly, "But you can call me Mako. I got rid of those Black Paper dudes a while ago."

"What's with the dress?" Val asked, tugging at the long red gown. Mako frowned.

"It's a sorcerer's gown. NOT a dress. I'm a Fomar, a male human Force user. What are you gonna be, kid?"

"Nothing, if I can help it. I'm not a kid. I'm Val and I'm looking for my friends. We got separated in the first level of the mines and now I don't know where I am." Val replied simply.

"Ah, well. You're in Mines Level 2. Want some help finding your friends? I can go with you if you like." Mako offered, "We'll have to find me a healing rig first, though."

"Yeah, okay. Which way to the first level and a healing whatever?" Val wondered as he recollected his backpack and slung it on. Mako grinned and held up his arm, a holographic map appearing over a black band after he pushed back on the sleeve of his outfit.

"I've got this whole area mapped out. We'll find a rig in this room here, about two rooms to the south." he pointed out and traced a route with his finger, "Then we'll follow this path to the teleporter for Level One and go through that to find your friends." The two of them headed off with the three Mags surrounding Mako, searching first for the healing rig, then the teleporter.

* * *

Fully healed and stocked with items, the three hunters ran through the level in search of the Sinow Red that kidnapped Val. Perri attacked a lot more viciously than normal, chasing after a Garanz that had materialized into one room and waving a branch threateningly at it.

"Get back here, you stupid hunk of metal and tell me where your stupid friend took Valentine!" she raged and beat at it after Elliot jumped and quickly fired his newly tekked Ice Beam at it to freeze it in place.

"Perri! You're gonna get yourself killed at that rate!" Dular shouted at her. "And don't break that rod! It was expensive!"

"It's MY Branch of Paku Paku and I'll do whatever I feel like with it! I bought it with MY Photon Drops and Meseta!" she snapped back and resumed beating the now defunct machine, "Tell me where the man is, or I swear to God, I'll turn you into a Technical Crozier and sell you to that idiot Montague!" Dular sighed and looked over at Elliot.

"How far have we gotten through this?" he asked. Elliot checked his map and angled it at him. "Okay, we're about halfway through it. It looks like we'll have to go down that hall over there and it should take us to the central room. Once we hit that, it's only a few more rooms to the teleporter for level two."

"Perri, it's dead now. Why don't you just leave it alone and come along with us?" Elliot asked cautiously. Perri glared at the machine as it fell apart, then snatched up a rolled up piece of carpeting. "What is that?"

"My guess is a Lovely Carpet or something. It belongs to Val. Now, let's find him!" she declared and shoved the carpet into his hands to deal with. Elliot shrugged in confusion at Dular and the two hurried after her.

The room at the end of the hall held an ambush of Sinow Beats and Canadines. Perri's blasts of Zonde techs and Elliots freezing shots kept the machines disabled as Dular cut them down in a few fell swoops from his sword. Beyond that, however, they found the room already swarming with Sinows and Gillchics. They were mostly concentrated in one small area, where explosions of fire were erupting almost constantly.

"Must be another team of hunters." Dular muttered, "Perri! How's Denwark doing with the burst?!"

"Not ready yet! I'll take them all on with this!" the Forcer declared and lashed forward at the group of machines with the branch, a ball of dark violet energy rushing forth and spewing deadly smoke as it shot ahead. "Megid!"

"HEY HEY HEY! I'M WORKIN' HERE!" a male voice hollered, "Are you trying to kill us along with these things?!"

"Who's that?" Dular asked in shock, "And why didn't that blast kill him with those other machines?" Elliot scratched his head, then blinked.

_"I show you to the frozen wastes, ice fields as far as you can see!"_ he yelled out as Perri and Dular stared at him.

_"I set the field to burn with my flames of passion, ignited by the spark of life!"_ the voice yelled back.

_"Rise, the figures of humanity, and show the world your light! Rise, the children of the stars, and bring us forth from night!"_ the two finished together.

"Mako?! What are you doing here?!" Elliot yelled and laughed, running forth as another batch of Sinows fell. Mako stood, slightly smoking from the Megid attack, and grinned at him, holding a black pitchfork in one hand and scratching his head with the other.

"Ah, the usual. Any leads on my baby sis?" he replied, "And what are you doing here, Elliot?"

"No leads on the babe, but my friends and I are looking for a missing member of our party. Have you seen him?" Elliot asked as Dular and Perri joined them. "He looks kinda like a kid."

"Ya mean Val?" Mako remarked in surprise, "Yeah! I just saved his butt from Black Paper! They messed him up pretty bad but Reverser fixed him up. He's right over there." He pointed at the hall he had come in from at the little figure struggling to pry his axe from the remains of a Garanz.

"Val!" Dular called out and Val jerked his head up. Smiling, he ran up to join the group. "Nice to see you back with us, man." the Hunter greeted with a grin.

"C'mon, Elliot, introductions here!" Mako declared, shouldering the pitchfork as the three Mags around him waved cheerfully at Denwark, Bana and Pushan. Elliot laughed and nodded.

"Mako, this is Dular and Perrinetta. Guys, this is Mako, my best friend growing up in the Oran Class Academy." he introduced the three friends. Dular shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you. How goes your hunting?" he asked the red-head, "I've never met a Fomar in person before. Doesn't it feel weird to wear that?"

"You get used to it. I hated the hat, but the hairband's pretty cool. Goes with my short hair. Hunting's okay, I found a few reds here and there. Traded them off for my Demonic Fork here." Mako replied and suddenly reached out and snagged Ryoko before it could grab onto Perri's branch. "No, Ryoko. Stay."

"Hi! My name's Perrinetta, but you can call me Perri or whatever you like!" Perri fairly gushed at the newcomer, pink cheeked and grinning somewhat stupidly, "This is my Mag, Denwark. I find lots of reds, too. My Branch of Paku Paku is my newest one. Does your Mag like it? I hope so." Elliot stared at her in confusion as Mako grinned and chuckled.

"That branch has a smell my Mag likes, but if it grabs on, you'll get a new weapon and owe me a new Mag." he replied, "Better put it away."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Mako Sir!" the smaller Forcer burbled and the branch disappeared into her pack.

"Just Mako. So, you guys are hunting for rare stuff?" the Fomar asked.

"Not really. Val, here, is from another world and he got transported here by accident. He also lost a bunch of items here and we're helping him recollect them. Elliot, hand him that one thing we found." Dular replied. The Ranger scowled momentarily, then pulled out the rolled up carpet. Val cheered as he collected it.

"Yeah! This is the Lovely Carpet! Only a few pieces left!" he declared.

"Ah, 'kay. Need an extra Forcer?" Mako remarked.

"Yeah!" Perri declared.

"Not really." Elliot shot in at the same moment, "Not to be rude or anything, pal, but we've got a full team already." He shot a look at the scowling Perrinetta. "We'd better get moving. Aren't you still scrounging for clues?"

"Ya got a point there." Mako murmured and shrugged, "No skin off my butt. At least let me upload my copy of the Mines map to you so you don't get jumped. The rest of this area and part of the next level are clear, so you guys should be safe until halfway through level two."

"How exactly did you survive Megid?" Dular asked as Mako handed Elliot the small map disc and turned to leave.

"Ever built a house in the middle of a field of Ob Lilies?" Mako replied with a grin, "I built a high resistance with some units and barriers to help. Well, later!" He waved at them as he walked away, the three little Mags floating around him. Dular, Elliot, Perri and Val called their goodbyes, then went on towards the teleporter, happy to meet a new friend and rescue an older one.

* * *

Dular noticed peculiarities between Elliot and Perrinetta almost right after they separated from the strange Fomar. The little Forcer was still pink and hummed dreamily as she skipped along in front of the group. Elliot walked along, scowling silently and acting rather grumpy. Val looked between them, then grinned and shook his head.

"You know what's up with them?" Dular asked during one short break. Val nodded and grinned wider. "I take you're not gonna tell me about it." He nodded again. "Figures."

"C'mon, Elliot! I just wanna know if he's got a girlfriend!" Perri whined between bites of her sandwich. Elliot only made a face and bit into his lunch. "Oh you big baby! Dular! Make him tell me if Mako's single!"

"Why not finish your lunch so we can get on with this trip?" the Hunter replied and got up. Perri pouted, but shrugged and handed the rest of her sandwich to Denwark to gobble up. "By the way, Elliot, what was all that about with the poem you two said back there?"

"Something we came up with back in academy." the ranger replied shortly, "He liked fire techs, I liked ice weaps. Opposites attract, I guess, we were friends from the first day we met."

"And the thing about his baby sister?"

"You'll have to ask him about that, I don't know the whole story myself."

"Look! The teleporter's right up ahead!" Val suddenly cried and ran ahead, laughing, "Periwinkle! I'll be home soon enough with your entire set!" That ended the conversation about Mako rather abruptly.

------------

Mines Level 2 was largely quiet, though somewhat smoldering in portions here and there. Val skipped along, whistling cheerfully. With only five pieces of furniture still at large, he was confident that the whole crazy affair would soon be over and he'd be home again. Though he liked his strange new friends, Val was missing the simplicity of Animal Crossing, where the most effort he ever made to get a rare item was move to Animal Island for a week and fish at the strangest hours of the morning for furniture. And the sooner he got back, the better; his robe was becoming more and more tattered with each new area he found himself having to be dragged into for furniture pieces.

"Well, we've made it to the end of the mines and found only pieces of robots lying everywhere." Dular muttered.

"Must've been Black Paper's handiwork, Mako said he didn't go this far with Val." Perri murmured and shrugged, "Well, easier for us! Let's get to the teleporter on the other end of this room and find out where those unmarked passages lead to, guys!" She marched ahead with her friends behind her as they entered a large round room with dozens of monitors on the wall.

The doors sealed themselves shut behind and before them as they got to the other side. Jumping in surprise and quickly preparing for an ambush, the hunters were startled to see a strange object staring out at them from one of the many huge screens. Lights flashed red and sirens blared as the object began to 'float' across the screen to another monitor.

"Dular? What's this thing and is it gonna kill us?" Perri asked, watching the object out of the corner of her eyes as it continued circling them.

"I think that this is that AI that I was talking about earlier." Dular replied as he watched a strange totem come down from the center of the ceiling. "If I recall correctly, this is Vol Opt." A blast of electricity shot down from the totem at them and the hunters jumped aside to avoid the hit. "And yeah, it's trying to kill us!!!"

"Then let's kill IT first!" Elliot declared and began firing at the totem. Perri shook her head and began shooting Foie attacks at the object circling them. Dular and Val hacked away at the smaller totems that would pop up from the floor at random times.

"The red ones! Those seem to hurt it more!" Val yelled after plunging his Golden Axe into a red pillar resulted in an electronic shriek from Vol Opt. With all four hunters attacking at all sides, Vol Opt was soon erupting from the broken monitors into bursts of flames. Perri yelled and leaped back from one set of monitors, covering her head.

"Perri?! Are you okay?!" Dular yelled out as he ran back from the center of the room to rejoin the group of friends. The Forcer looked up at him and grinned shakily.

"Yeah. Never had to fight a whole room of computers before, though." she replied and looked around after the flames died away. "I think we got it." Elliot breathed a sigh of relief and began to put his beam away. Val blinked and moved forward cautiously in search of an item that should have been left behind by the AI. A sudden heavy clunk startled him and he scampered back to the group. The hunters looked up in shock as the ceiling opened again and a huge mechanical monstrosity descended into the central portion of the room.

"I don't think it's done fighting, guys." Val muttered and clutched his axe much more tightly. The hunters took up arms again and began attacking the machine. Vol Opt retaliated by spinning around and firing a strange orb at them.

"Scatter!" Dular yelled and the hunters dashed away in all directions as the orb began tracking one of them down. Elliot huffed and puffed as the orb finally slammed into him. Instantly, a prison of stone rose up and surrounded him. Vol Opt spun again and focused a group of targeting lasers on him.

"Somebody get me outta here!" he yelled, "It won't let me shoot!" Perri dashed by and beat at the cell with the branch. "Hurry!" Elliot wailed, staring in horror at the dozen of tiny red dots lighting up his chest.

"I'm hurrying! The rod's not great at this, y'know!" Perri declared and the stone finally fell. She grabbed his hand and yanked with all her strength, pulling them both onto the floor just as the AI fired its lasers. "Ow!" the Forcer grunted as she landed with the ranger almost on her, "Get off!"

"Too close!" Elliot sighed in relief and sat up, grinning at Perri, "You saved my life! Thanks!" She grinned back.

"What are friends for? C'mon! We've got a crazed computer to crash!" Perri exclaimed and resumed her technique attacks with Denwark and Pushan working together to boost their friends' defense and power.

On the other side of the monstrosity, Dular and Val cut down the healing section of the AI and set to work on the missile silo that threatened to open and hit them at any moment. The targeting beams that danced around the whole group was unnerving, once they understood what it meant.

"Will you just die already?!" Dular yelled in a fury and gave one final swipe of the sword at the large creation. The huge golem finally began to explode and collapse as the friends jumped back and watched it tiredly. After a few short minutes, all that remained of the hulking AI were a few pieces of charred metal and a leaf sitting in the center of the room. Val staggered up and collected it, stuffing it into his backpack

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat." he sighed, "I want to call it a day already. How can you stand all this activity?"

"Elliot's five alarm coffee." Perri replied with a smile, jerking her thumb at the ranger, who smiled proudly, "Never fails to get you going for 36 hours straight. Why do you think we haven't stopped to get a full night's sleep in the past day and a half?"

"Well, I want a nice long nap!" Val declared, "And I'm not budging from this room until I get some shut-eye!" The hunters looked at each other in confusion, then shrugged.

"Might as well. Everything's dead in here and the room's kinda warm compared to Pioneer 2's climate controlled housing. I'm feeling a bit sleepy, myself, to be honest." Perri murmured and yawned, stretching her arms and legs before dumping her pack down to use as a pillow.

"I'll set the alarm to go off in a few hours. Get some rest, everyone." Dular yawned out as he plunked numbers into his armband, "I get the feeling that the worst's yet to come."


End file.
